What Is the first thing you start thinking about as soon as you wake up? Perhaps it’s the list of everything you have to do and everywhere you need to go during that day. I Need to go to class, need to go work, need to go to the store, need to get food. However, do you really “have” to go anywhere to do all those things? Think about all the things the internet allows us to do right from the comfort of our own home.
For instance, you can go to college and take classes online, several colleges and universities, including Penn State, offer degrees that can all be taken online. Several jobs allow workers to do their work right from home. An article written for the Balance Careers by Laureen Brunelli listed several jobs from several different fields that allow you to work from home including jobs in, insurance, accounting, and even teaching.
So, no need to leave the house to go to work or school. What about all that shopping you need to do? That’s not a problem either, apps like Shipt and Instacart deliver food right to your door. Want to eat out? No problem Apps like Grub hub deliver restaurant food. Amazon, CVS, or Walgreens can deliver prescriptions. And anything else you could ever need can be delivered through websites like Walmart or Amazon. Still want to talk to people and stay connected? FaceTime allows you to speak “face to face” with the person you want to talk too. Also, Instagram and Facebook allow you to keep connected with people all over the world.
My point with as many delivery services and apps there are it would be possible to survive without leaving the house barring any medical emergencies.
References
https://www.amazon.com
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/work-from-home-careers-3542835
https://www.walgreens.com
https://www.cvs.com
https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu
https://www.instacart.com
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shipt/id971888874
https://www.instagram.com
https://www.facebook.com
https://www.grubhub.com
https://www.walmart.com
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/facetime/id1110145091
I think it is positive that the internet can make people stay in the house. As a big computer user, I use computer to help me do almost everything. Sometimes on the weekend, I stay in front of my computer all day long. Because of the delivery apps like Uber Eats, I do not have to worry about what to eat.
Nowadays, the internet is so powerful, it has all the potential to keep us in the house. For example, online shopping, online studying, entertain, meet with friends, and even making money.
According to Business Insider, “Retailers closed a record 102 million square feet of store space in 2017, then smashed that record in 2018 by closing another 155 million square feet, according to estimates by the commercial real-estate firm CoStar Group.” Whether you like it or not, the internet has already changed our living habit a lot. Lots of retailers stores are closing because of the rise of e-commerce outlets like Amazon.
The invent of virtual reality also help us stay in the house. I the virtual reality society, you can spend time with your friends “face to face”, you can study “in the classroom”, and you can also travel to where ever you want.
Reference:
https://www.maketecheasier.com/things-to-do-with-vr-headset/
https://www.businessinsider.com/stores-closing-in-2019-list-2019-3
https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/features-retail-apocalypse-bankruptcy-stores-closing
I want to focus on how this applies to the future of the workplace. A traditional counter-argument to working from home is that it makes people lazier and less productive. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case – in fact, according to a 2-year Stanford study, it makes people more productive. People still worked full shifts, and were less likely to arrive late or leave early. They also were less distracted at home, allowing them to concentrate on their work more. Employee attrition (the rate at which people leave) reduced by 50%, and they took less time off for breaks, sick days, or other reasons. Additionally, the company that this was tested with spent on average $2,000 less per employee for office rent. The lack of a commute also is healthier for the environment, with less carbon emissions entering the atmosphere.
Now at this point, this may seem too good to be true, and you might be wondering if there are any negatives to working from home. It turns out there is one surprising one, in that a majority of the people who volunteered to work from home wanted to return to working in an office. They said they felt too isolated, which makes sense given that humans are naturally social creatures.
Overall, I think the positives greatly outweigh the negative. The world is changing, and we must be willing to change our ways if we want to improve our lives and the lives of our descendants.
Reference: https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/a-2-year-stanford-study-shows-astonishing-productivity-boost-of-working-from-home.html
The amount of information and different services that are at our finger tips is completely insane to think about. It is crazy to believe that you could potentially stay in the comfort of your own home and pajamas all day and still get things done such as shopping or like mentioned getting your prescription delivered. Not to mention that plenty of people work remotely from home and now with many universities offering online programs, even a bachelor’s degree. With the breakthrough of apps like this people still do need to be careful about which ones they are downloading. You never know what different apps can take from your phone whether it be just your location to drop something off but maybe even to more personal things. Most of the time you just accept to an apps terms and conditions and do not even know the personal information you are giving them. Someone else posted a blog recently about how Apple’s new IOS update has potential for hacking. So with the new update, if you download a certain app it can end up being a scheme to get your information. Another issue with certain delivery apps like mentioned above is that they can hurt local restaurants. With delivery apps people are less likely to come into your store and end up not only are they spending less money but they are now not required to tip a waiter. Apps like these, although they are convenient, can definitely have negative impacts outside of the cyber world. I think apps like this show how the internet and different robots are truly taking over everything we do. Now, when you walk into a Panera or a McDonald’s, there are self serving kiosks. Although this may make specifying your meal easier, it can have negative consequences on the economy and unemployment rate. Some restaurants have actual robots that do the same tasks as employees when it comes to being in the kitchen. The innovation behind all these apps and robots is incredible, but in the end could it be more harmful then helpful? This is a very hard question to answer, but the only way to find the answer is to continue to look at the trends of what is happening.
Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-kfc-panera-robot-employees-2018-6
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/are-delivery-apps-killing-restaurants
With technology vastly growing and expanding into different fields, it is amazing to see all the services, products, and things you can get through the internet without ever once leaving your house. This idea definitely can make life easier and more convenient , but as Rachel said in the previous comment, so people need more human interaction than a 60 second drop off exchange can provide. Ever since the recent surge in technology, more and more people are reporting to feeling more lonely than ever before. According to Psychology Today, “the Internet can eventually isolate us and stunt our remaining relationships.” The reason for the internet hurting our existing relationships is because people “attempt to substitute real relationships with online relationships”. So while being able to do anything and everything online this will in the long run end up hurting people’s social skills and can hinder face to face interactions.
Reference:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-gen-y-guide/201702/the-2-reasons-why-so-many-people-are-becoming-lonelier
This is definitely an interesting point to bring up, and I have thought about this numerous times before as well. The aspects that come into play when discussing this are connectivity and convenience, and an example of this is the introduction of personal assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. When someone is having a conversation with another person about a certain product or even anything in general, and there is one of these personal assistants present in the room, there is a high possibility that there will be advertisements pertaining to that product the next time that they are scrolling through news feed or a given site. This allows the user to save the time searching for this product and it allows for them to feel more inclined to purchase the product with the multiple exposure. So, having resources like this makes it more convenient for the consumer, because they will saving time going to these stores and returning home. Yes, I do think we are progressing more toward an internet centered, home lifestyle; however, I do not think this is a bad thing though. It connects people to other people, consumers to products, companies to their consumers. When you think of early internet programs, it begins with that email communication and connection. All in all, the internet is increasing making the bond between consumers and products stronger, because it gives easy access to provide advertisements and easy access for the consumer to purchase products that align with their interests.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681315000865
This trend of making everything accessible at your fingertips comes with many perks– but also many downfalls. We are exposed to apps that allow us to get virtually anything delivered to us within a short period of time; amazon prime, grub hub, go puff, etc. Go puff has a variety of different ‘snacks and necessities’ that you would normally find at your local convenience store. What makes them superior to your local CVS or Walgreens, is that they promise to deliver your items within 30 min or less. They currently deliver in 18 cities — and their app is just beginning to grow.
Having this convenience is good for those who don’t have enough time to go to the store, are disabled, don’t have a car, etc. But as time goes on we are starting to get more and more dependent on these delivery apps. What happens when we decide to stay in and order when we are perfectly capable of going out to run a quick errand? We lose exercise and human interaction. But largely, big businesses may decide to sell only online and get rid of their local stores. In turn, this would decrease the number of jobs available which is already a growing problem. Many have already suspected that malls will no longer be around in the future; as everyone opts to shop online instead. The same concept applies with delivery apps because when we are provided with such convenience, we simply don’t want to go back to traditional shopping. The world is certainty adopting new trends. But is it for the better or for the worst?
Reference:
https://spoonuniversity.com/place/thanks-to-gopuff-you-will-never-leave-your-couch-again
This is an interesting lens to view this concept from, but we also have to consider that some people were already basically living in the house all the time: those who are elderly and home-bound. This removes the job factor you mentioned, but this class of people still heavily relies on caretakers or family members to bring them food, keep them from being lonely, etc. Obviously, some individuals do not have the proper support network to make this happen, so organizations like Meals on Wheels fill in the gaps for those people by delivering hot food daily. The ability to live in your own house independently at any age is not only a cool thing to consider, but a need for elderly people who are not qualified/willing to enter into assisted living. Obviously, there is a learning curve with some of the related technologies, but innovations like these can make it so much easier on older populations. And Meals on Wheels can only do so much; they fill the need for food and check in on the meal recipient, but so many people require more social interaction than can be gotten from one 60 second interaction a day. Technology used in the way you’re discussing can help bridge the gap for these people and increase the quality of life they have dramatically. Technology opens doors for entertainment, social connections, and even ways to encourage physical activity/therapy (have you been in a new-ish retirement home lately–SO many of them have a sick Wii bowling setup). The point is, much of the elderly population is unwilling, or does not qualify for, retirement homes or assisted living. All of the above tech we’ve mentioned can be applied to improve the quality of their lives.
Reference: https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/07/why_senior_citizens_love_the_w.html